Volkswagen says it’s Going to Build a Convertible Crossover

If there’s one thing automakers love to do, it’s chase trends. So even though Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet sales never really took off, Land Rover now sells the Range Rover Evoque Convertible. And today, Volkswagen announced plans to build its own convertible crossover coupe based on the new T-Roc. Expect it to go on sale in the first half of 2020.

The sketch shown above is the only image we have so far, and from what we can tell, it doesn’t look horrible. At least as far as two-door convertible crossovers go. And considering how popular CUVs are these days, it will probably sell better than the struggling Buick Cascada. Then again, based on how few Evoques were sold in the U.S. last year, we have a hard time imagining more than a few thousand of those were convertibles. So maybe the demand isn’t really there.

Volkswagen says the decision was made as part of a new focus on SUVs and that it’s ready to spend $98 million (€80 milion) bringing the T-Roc Cabriolet to market.

“Volkswagen is evolving into an SUV brand,” said CEO Dr. Herbert Diess. “The T-Roc is already setting new standards in the compact SUV segment. With the cabriolet based on the T-Roc, we will be adding a highly emotional model to the range.”

At the moment, there’s no word on pricing or U.S. availability, but in this case, no news may be good news.